Congress isn't being allowed into ICE detention.
Tuesday, July 15, 2025
Hi, friends! Welcoming back my pal
who graciously wrote today’s Neighbor Notes. She’s the best — among her many talents, she is a communications expert, sports podcaster, and Disney Adventure Guide! She also loves the Church and cares that we engage well with politics. I hope you enjoy learning from her today!What happened? ICE detention centers fall under the Department of Homeland Security, currently under the leadership of Secretary Kristi Noem, and Congress is supposed to give oversight as part of the checks and balances of the three branches of government. Members of Congress have the explicit statutory authority to conduct unannounced oversight visits to facilities operated by or for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that are used to detain individuals, according to House.gov. This right has been reaffirmed in appropriations acts since 2020. The law is clear that members of Congress are allowed to visit ICE facilities without giving prior notice. Congressional staff members need to give 24 hours' notice, but members themselves can show up unannounced. In-person visits and robust information requests are crucial for ensuring accountability for ICE's track record in immigration detention. Oversight is important for addressing concerns about inhumane treatment, abuses, and deaths in detention facilities, according to the National Immigrant Justice Center. It also helps ensure proper use of taxpayer dollars, especially given the increase in funding for immigration detention.
As of June 2025, new guidance posted on the department's website asks members to give 72 hours of notice by sending an email alerting them of their visit, which the agency says falls out of the detention center's "purview." The policy says that ICE "retains the sole and unreviewable discretion to deny a request or otherwise cancel, reschedule or terminate a tour or visit," including if management believes it is appropriate to cancel.
Members of the House of Representatives responded to the lack of transparency by introducing the Stop Unlawful Detention and End Mistreatment Act (SUDEM). The bill was introduced by Representatives Maxwell Frost (FL), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL), and Adriano Espaillat (NY). Representative Frost said, “Donald Trump and Republicans have turned our immigration system into a taxpayer-funded kidnapping operation. People are being disappeared into a system that operates in the shadows — without public accountability, without basic human dignity, and often without legal justification. The SUDEM Act is about pulling back the curtain. This bill won’t fix everything, but if Donald Trump and his allies think these policies are defensible, then they shouldn’t be afraid to tell the public exactly what they’re doing. If they’re proud of it, they’ll report it. If they’re ashamed, they need to end it.”
How can I pray? Pray that accountability and transparency will become a part of ICE’s standard operations and that they will be compelled to follow due process and treat everyone in their jurisdiction in detention centers humanely.
What is one more thing I can do? Call your House of Representatives representative and ask them to co-sponsor the SUDEM Act, especially Republican representatives. This will cause political pressure on the Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, to bring a vote. Google “who is my representative?” Or call the congressional switchboard at 202-224-3121.
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Thank you for writing this, Nifer. Just called my Congressman!
Keep up the great reporting, Nifer. You are making a difference!